About Karla Hess

Karla called New Mexico, Washington, D.C., Latin America, and California home before moving to DFW six years ago. She is humbled and entertained by her daughters, ages 7 and 3. Karla is a homeschooling, freelance writing-mama who loves simple pleasures: live music, the outdoors, two-steppin’, reading, journaling, cooking, gardening and rare uninterrupted conversations with friends. She blogs eclectically at karlahess.wordpress.com

Author Archive | Karla Hess

My friend–I’ll call her Grace–threw a lovely at-home birthday party for her five-year old. It was one of the best parties I’ve attended, and it ended unforgettably. As the little guests arrived (all girls in this case) they were led to a table with crayons, markers and stickers scattered liberally about. Each girl was handed […]

Kids activities: I love them! And also: I loathe them. Our kids’ extracurricular activities can cause the wheels to come off the bus. We’re not alone. Talk to any parents of school-aged children, and this is bound to come up. The year we started homeschooling, I had stars in my eyes and big plans for […]

“Nobody’s going to give you a medal for natural childbirth, Karla. The woman who gives birth without drugs is going to have to take her baby home same as the woman who gets relief for the pain.” These are words an acquaintance spoke to me when I was a first-time expectant mom, hoping to have […]

My family and I moved to the DFW area five and a half years ago for my husband’s job. It all happened very quickly. I’d moved several times before; I considered myself to be adaptable and resourceful. We expected to stay a while, so I hoped DFW and I would like each other. I found […]

As I write, my 7 year old daughter is in the kitchen whipping up Valentine’s Day treats on her EZ Bake Oven and bringing back memories of when I did the same thing on my own. Like mother, like daughter. Well…not exactly. You see, my seven year old probably knows more about cooking now than […]

Shortly before the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, I deleted the Facebook app from my iPhone. A little too much champagne? No, no. My drink of choice was straight hot chocolate. I was curled up in my pjs on the couch in front of a toasty fire. The children were sleeping soundly–my mental […]

Until last night, if I heard the word “marionette,” I might have thought “Pinocchio,” thanks to Disney. This morning, a few new things come to mind. We took a chance with a Groupon to see a holiday-themed show by Le Theatre de Marionette, a local company that uses beautiful locally hand-crafted string puppets for unique […]

Nostalgia and the holidays go together like hot chocolate and cinnamon sticks. When I discovered family friendly events that combine local history with the beauty and anticipation of the holidays, I found a lovely combination. Today I’m singing the praises of two events held at living history museums in the metroplex: Dallas Heritage Village and Log […]

Essential, healing sleep. Parents need it. Babies need it. Advice about it is abundant. I’m not going to add to that advice by telling you what worked for me. Instead, I’m going to tell you a story. One that leads me to question why we talk so much about sleep in the first place. ***** […]

My daughter and I’s annual holiday tradition of attending The Nutcracker is something we both treasure. If this holiday season is like most, I’ll be last-minute gift shopping; however, I’ll have our Nutcracker tickets purchased and a little pre-performance party planned in advance. Spending quality time with the ones I love is my “love language.” When that […]

Were you born and raised in Texas? Perhaps you’re not from Texas…but Texas loves you anyway? (I’m a big Lyle Lovett fan, I couldn’t resist.) Either way, if you’re reading this, chances are you’ve got one or more little Texans in your household. Generally speaking, I find that the more I learn about a place, […]

If you’re interested in a family activity that is free, relaxing, soulful, entertaining, healing, inspiring, and checks “dinner” off your list…I might have something for you! Over the summer, my family fell in love with the free outdoor concerts held at the Levitt Pavilion in Arlington. We are new to the community, and after long […]